Best Jazz Series

Upstairs at Mistral by the Jazz Artists of Charleston

Staff Pick

Not officially a part of 2009’s Piccolo Spoleto Festival, the Jazz Artists of Charleston’s ambitious 13-night series basically worked as an adjacent musical event with an impressive variety of local jazz and blues at the Market Street venue. The cream of the local jazz crop — male and female vocalists and top-notch acoustic and electric instrumentalists — played two separate sets each night for nearly two weeks straight, helping establish the JAC even more firmly as a serious musical force.